


i feel okay when i see you smile

by j_llybean



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, but also fluff, julie and luke can touch, rose is the best mom ever, sorry no reggie or alex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:20:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29092644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_llybean/pseuds/j_llybean
Summary: the date reminds julie of her mom, and luke helps her feel better
Relationships: Julie Molina & Julie Molina's Mother, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 56





	i feel okay when i see you smile

**Author's Note:**

> i got mad inspired when i listened to dandelions by ruth b so you guys get a kinda sad little juke one shot :) beware of feelings (sorry its really short)

Today was January thirtieth. There was nothing special about this day, no national holiday or birthday, but that was why Rose had always loved it. When Julie was five, her mother had brought her to the calendar and shown her the date.

“What do you see, mija?” her mother had asked.

“January thirtieth.” the young girl replied.

“Does it say anything else?” Rose said, pointing to where it said ‘abuela’s birthday’ on the fifteenth.

“No.” Julie said resolutely.

“That's what makes it special. We have to celebrate every day for its beauty, my love, or we will never properly love the extra special ones.” Rose brushed a curl out of her daughter’s face and tucked it behind her ear.

“Okay mami.”

At Julie’s words, Rose smiled at the girl and swept her up into her arms, despite Julie almost being too big for her to do so. Rose kissed the top of her daughter’s head and looked at the calendar for another moment.

“Do you want to bake a cake, mija?”

The memory swirled around in Julie’s mind even now, eleven years later. She had woken up and gone about her morning as usual that Saturday until she had finally checked her phone and saw the date. The sixteen-year-old had stared at the small numbers on her phone even after the screen faded and shut off to conserve battery life. 

Saturday, January 30.

She walked over to Rose’s studio in a daze, her feet taking her on their own accord. Julie pushed open the doors and slowly sat down behind the piano, completely lost in her own world.

“Hey, Jules!” Luke popped in. “Ready to write some music? Alex and Reg are out with Willie right now, so they won't interrupt this time- hey, are you okay?” he faltered, seeing her unfocused eyes on the keys of the piano and her knuckles turning white from her grip on the edges of the bench.

“Huh?” Julie asked quietly, finally lifting her gaze from the white and black keys of the piano to meet Luke’s eyes.

“Are you okay?” he repeated, softer this time.

Julie looked away, eyes moving to the plants behind Luke. “It's January thirtieth.” she whispered.

Luke waited for her to continue. He knew she’d explain if he gave her a moment.

“When I was little, my mom would always bake a cake on the thirtieth, because she said we have to celebrate every day like it’s a holiday. She took something unremarkable and made it a day Carlos and I always looked forward to. I-” she paused, a tear slipping down her cheek. “I miss her so much.” Julie whispered.

She shuddered, pulling her arms around herself, and Luke surged forward to wrap her in his arms instead. He sat down next to her on the piano bench and let her cry into his chest, her sobs shaking her body, the body that suddenly seemed so small in his embrace. 

After a few minutes, she quieted and her tears dried, leaving her eyes tinged pink. Julie extracted herself from Luke’s arms, but he held onto her shoulders, his grip firm. 

“Hey. It’s okay. We don’t have to write today. We can wait ‘till you’re ready.” Luke said, his voice and expression softer than Julie had ever known it to be before. She melted into his touch, the tension leaving her shoulders. She let her forehead fall and buried herself back into Luke, despite having little room on the piano bench to do so. 

Julie let out a watery laugh. “I’m sorry. I know you said you wanted to work on music today and you got the guys to leave us alone for it, but I saw the date and everything just kind of… fell apart.”

“Don’t worry about it. Trust me, I get it.” Luke reassured her. Julie sighed, feeling a mixture of contentment and sadness. She had long since stopped feeling guilty for loving her boys. Rose would have wanted Julie to be happy with Alex and Reggie and Luke. And she loved them, she did - but she really did miss her mom. Even three ghost boys couldn't quite fill that hole.

They stayed like that, just holding each other for an amount of time that neither could have identified if they tried. It could have been an hour or five minutes, but eventually Julie pried herself out of Luke’s arms and stood, dusting her overalls off. Luke reached out from where he still sat on the bench and lightly traced the sunflower drawing on Julie’s hip. She smiled slightly, reaching out to cup his face with her hand, the other tracing the way his eyebrows furrowed with concentration. Julie looked at Luke with the kind of fondness she had never felt for anyone before, but she didn't dwell on the feeling. She knew it would all make sense soon enough, but for now Julie just enjoyed the moment. Her hand left his furrowed brow and moved to cover the hand on her hip. Luke paused his movements and looked up to meet Julie’s sparkling brown eyes.

“Luke.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you want to bake a cake with me?”

Luke’s face split into a grin so infectious that Julie couldn’t stop herself from smiling back.

“I would love to.”


End file.
